Physical and Mechanical Experimental Investigation of Concrete incorporated with Ceramic and Porcelain Clay Tile Powders as Partial Cement Substitutes

Abstract

The increased demand of construction over the past two decades has led to drastic increase in the cost of concrete production. The increasing cost and scarcity of portland cement has impacted negatively on the delivery of affordable housing and infrastructural development in developing countries like Uganda. For this reason, there is urgent need for finding suitable alternatives which can replace cement partially or at a high proportion. This study focussed on establishing the feasibility of using crushed ceramic and porcelain clay tiles powder as partial replacement of cement in production of eco-friendly concrete. Concrete cubes measuring 150 mm × 150 mm × 150 mm and 100 mm × 200 mm cylinder specimens were made from seven different concrete mixes prepared by using crushed ceramic and porcelain clay tile powder to replace 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% of ordinary portland cement by mass. The workabilities of the fresh concrete mixes were evaluated using the slump while compressive and splitting tensile strengths of hardened concrete were evaluated at different curing periods of 7, 14, and 28 days. The results of slump test showed that increase in ceramic and porcelain powder replacement decreased the workability of concrete. Replacement of cement with ceramic and porcelain powder significantly increased the compressive strength of concrete. Conclusively, the target compressive and tensile splitting strengths were achieved up to 20% replacement of cement with ceramic and porcelain powder beyond which the strength reduced.